We live and work with the seasons. Our daily chores depend on the time of the year: Our crofting year starts with lambing in the spring. It is a wonderful time of the year, when life is coming back to the place. Our hoggs come back from their winter grazing and the chickens start laying again after usually taking the winter off. 

In June we start shearing the sheep and since Tom is one of very few shearers around, he doesn't only shear our sheep, but for many other people, too. His work takes him all over the county as far as the West Coast and continues into August. After that, the ewes and their lambs go back in the hill, where they spend most of their time, on and off. The cows have their calves in the summer, too.

Come autumn it's time to bring the sheep in again and sort out the lambs that are going to the mart. Our hoggs are going off to their winter grazing in October.

The winter is the time of feeding - between about October and April, all livestock needs to be fed daily, which means running out bales of haylage to the sheep and cows as well as nuts and manually feed horses and chickens. That leaves us with little time for spinning or reflection or other quiet winter activities we dream of doing by the fire!